The Dude Diet Dinnertime: 125 Clean(ish) Recipes for Weeknight Winners and Fancypants Dinners

By Serena Wolf

The author of The Dude Diet is back with 125 crowd-pleasing recipes to hack the daily dinner dilemma.

in her cult-classic The Dude Diet, chef and recipe developer Serena Wolf dared go where no healthy living cookbook had gone before: into the realm of dude food. From wings and nachos to burgers and pizza, Serena offered clean(ish) junk food makeovers that inspired dudes everywhere to put down the takeout menu and pick up a spatula. Now, The Dude Diet Dinnertime gives those same hungry dudes—and their families—dozens of drool-worthy main course dishes.

In The Dude Diet Dinnertime, Serena gives you 125 foolproof recipes to satisfy every craving and please every member of the family. With soon-to-be classics like Super Sloppy Josés, Turkey Reuben Patty Melts, Chicago Dog Baked Potatoes and Chicken Parm Quinoa Bake, Serena shows comfort food fanatics and picky eaters alike how to get a delicious, nutritious, and filling dinner on the table without a fuss—and sometimes in 30 minutes flat.

With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, gorgeous food photography, and Serena’s one-of-a-kind voice and humor, The Dude Diet Dinnertime offers a fun and utterly satisfying answer to the eternal question: What’s for dinner?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062854735

Serena Wolf

After graduating from Harvard in 2009, Serena followed her passion for food to Le Cordon Bleu Paris, receiving her cuisine diploma in 2011. Since then, she has put her culinary skills to work as a private chef, food writer, recipe developer, and blogger at Domesticate-Me.com. She is currently a food contributor for ELLE.com and a member of SELF Magazine’s SelfMade Collective (an elite group of 25 influencers in the lifestyle space), as well as the former private chef for two players on the New York Giants. She also creates regular video content for her growing YouTube channel. Serena’s writing, recipes and photography have been featured on The Huffington Post, SHAPE.com, SELF. Com, BetterHomesandGardens.com, WomensHealth.com, BuzzFeed and POPSUGAR among others. She has also appeared as a guest on The Dr. Oz Show and Martha Stewart’s Radio Show "Mostly Martha."

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Introduction

Eight years ago, I fell madly in love with a wonderful and hilarious food-loving dude named Logan. I recently married him, mostly for his hot body, but we’ll come back to that.

Before we go any further, I need you to understand a few things about Logan Smith Unland and his unparalleled obsession with dank eats. This is the type of man who discusses a favorite sandwich or pizza in the same giddy, adoring way that most adults gush about their child or pet, right down to showing unsolicited photos on his phone. When attending a party, he immediately zeroes in on servers, becomes their best friend, and then enlists their help in procuring the freshest finger food throughout the night. (Hugs and high fives are not unusual upon leaving.) He comes close to hyperventilating in the vicinity of melted cheese, hasn’t missed our local barbecue festival in over a decade, and braves ailments ranging from cayenne-induced rashes to somewhat alarming meat sweats in his relentless pursuit of deliciousness. I’d go on, but you catch my drift.

When we first met, I was a culinary student at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, and Logan’s die-hard passion for food was one of the many things that piqued my interest in him. And since the first few months of our courtship were long-distance between Paris and New York City, I chalked up his decadent meal choices on dates to special-occasion eating. He definitely ate some nutritious stuff on his own time, right?

WRONG. Upon cohabitating, I quickly realized that Logan’s day-to-day diet was, in a word, terrifying. Scarier still was the fact that he thought he ate pretty healthy. Given that Logan’s primary food groups were meat, cheese, white bread, and Coors Light (all of which were consumed with flagrant disregard for normal human portion sizes), this belief only served to highlight his nutritional confusion. The more we talked about nutrition, the more I began to worry about Logan’s long-term health. If the iceberg lettuce and carrot shavings beneath his daily serving of chicken tenders—aka Buffalo chicken salad—remained his primary source of vegetables, he certainly wasn’t going to win any longevity contests. I was actually rather surprised he’d made it to the ripe old age of twenty-eight without falling victim to anything more serious than a raging Zantac habit.

Desperate to help my new roommate avoid an early, and likely deep-fried, grave, I’d occasionally suggest that Logan consider cleaning up his diet, only to be met with anti-kale rants and refusals to eat weird vegan things like me. (I found the latter a particularly interesting rebuff, as I am not vegan, nor do I enjoy eating weird things.) He blanketly condemned all health food as boring and gross, repeatedly scoffing at my claims that nutritionally sound meals could taste just as awesome as his beloved Chinese takeout or football-size burritos . . .

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Motivated by love (and my competitive nature), I committed myself to overhauling Logan’s perspective on eating well. Fully aware that he would never restrict himself to a life of steamed chicken breasts and broccoli, and not wanting him to, I decided to re-create his favorite comfort foods—I’m talking everything from lasagna and cheesesteaks to cocktails and cupcakes—using nutrient-dense whole foods. My mission wasn’t to create recipes that were good for being healthy, but rather ones that were straight-up delicious and elicited the same excitement freak-outs associated with more fattening fare. It wouldn’t be easy, but I knew that if I could pull it off, Logan might just come to see the healthy eating light.

And he did! The Dude inhaled my cleaner creations without question, happily eating more lean meats, whole grains, vegetables, and, eventually, his words. Slowly but surely, he dropped his post-college fun pounds, felt more energized, and began making smarter food choices and exercising respectable portion control on his own, which was downright inspiring to witness. If I could get Logan psyched about nutritious food, I knew I had a shot at converting other skeptics. And thus, The Dude Diet was born.

The early Dude Diet gospel was spread via my blog (domesticate-me.com), where I posted a regular column featuring slimmed-down comfort food recipes along with nuggets of nutritional wisdom and realistic healthy eating tips that didn’t involve counting calories, cutting out entire food groups, or purchasing obscure ingredients from eighteen different specialty stores. The series struck a chord with so many more people than I ever could have anticipated and set a pretty amazing chain of events in motion—starting with the emergence of a fledgling Dude Diet community, then landing me a job as the private chef for a couple of players on the New York Giants, and ultimately spawning my first book.

The Dude Diet: Clean(ish) Food for People Who Like to Eat Dirty was my Buffalo-scented love letter to Logan and his nutritionally confused peers the world over. It provided the building blocks for a healthy lifestyle—from kicking cravings and developing portion control to responsible boozing and the concept of No-Calorie Sunday—as well as an arsenal of foolproof recipes, all of which could be accomplished with minimal kitchen equipment and culinary skill. The goal? Help people get their shit together on the nutrition and cooking fronts, and make it as fun and tasty as humanly possible.

Since the book’s release in the fall of 2016, hordes of men, women, and children alike have enthusiastically embraced The Dude Diet, which truly warms my heart. As I’ve maintained since writing the inaugural blog post more than six years ago, The Dude Diet may have been inspired by a nutritionally confused dude and conceptualized with his beer-guzzling, finger-food-crushing, meat-sweat-suffering brethren in mind, but its core philosophy and flavor-packed recipes have universal appeal. The Dude Diet is a lifestyle for anyone—regardless of gender, age, and nutritional understanding—who wants to grab health by the proverbial balls, get busy in the kitchen, and eat drool-worthy nutritious food sans deprivation. In a time when everyone and their mom seems to be promoting a new diet with a laundry list of restrictions (Paleo, and Keto, and Whole30, oh my!), The Dude Diet offers an accessible alternative for those looking to live well without sacrificing the foods they love. As one Dude Dieter so eloquently stated: The Dude Diet is a lifestyle for the rest of us.

In the wake of The Dude Diet’s release, I’ve been lucky enough to meet countless Dude Dieters both in real life and online. And while our discussions have covered every topic from Logan’s impressive chest hair to successfully foisting quinoa bakes on toddlers, most convos typically end with the same request:

GIMME MORE DUDE DIET DINNERS!

I get it. Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but when it comes to staying on the nutritional straight and narrow, dinner is where people fall down the most. You’re tired, you’ve had a long day at home, work, or school, and the temptation to call a favorite deliveryman or self-soothe with a couch meal of Hot Pockets and Ben & Jerry’s can be strong. However, armed with a well-stocked pantry, a little motivation, and a book of recipes for easy evening feasts, a healthy homemade dinner suddenly becomes a lot less daunting. And that, friends, is why I wrote this book.

The following pages are filled with crave-worthy dinnertime recipes made with mostly good-for-you ingredients, and there’s a little something for every type of occasion and Dude Diet chef. You’ll find bomb burgers and sandwiches for times when you need classic comfort; an entire chapter devoted to fingers, wings, and other things perfect for game day (and everyday) celebrations; and plenty of cozy, crowd-pleasing casseroles. There are fuss-free one-pot recipes to minimize mess, hearty dinner salads made with leafy green haters in mind, and some egg-y options for nights when you’re feeling breakfast more than dinner. Hosting a dinner party or got a hot date? Put on your fancy pants and flip to the black tie optional recipes for slightly elevated Dude Diet fare. I’ve also labeled recipes that take thirty minutes or less with a Quick + Dirty stamp should you be pressed for time. Many recipes are complete meals in and of themselves, but there’s also an arsenal of sexy sides that you can mix and match with your favorite meat and seafood mains to create an endless variety of epic spreads. God knows I love it when you get creative.

Now that we’ve covered the important stuff, let’s circle back to the beginning where I mentioned marrying my muse, which was a significant event in The Dude Diet’s ongoing story. Logan and I tied the knot in October 2017, and this entire collection of recipes was tested and written during our newlywed year. Not to be a total sap, but sharing these dinners with Logan was a life highlight, and I like to think that this book is a reflection of the extreme happiness and excitement I felt about hitching my wagon to the Dude’s star. Don’t worry, Logan didn’t go easy on his critiques given our upgraded marital status. If anything, he took his duties as the arbiter of Dude Diet taste that much more seriously. Lucky for you, Logan is exactly the type of detail-oriented critic you want vetting your healthier mac and cheese and taquitos.

So, whether you’re a longtime Dude Diet devotee, a new disciple looking to turn your body into a wonderland, or someone standing in a library or bookstore deciding what to make for dinner, I’m pumped that this book is currently in your hands. I hope it provides some pearls of nutritional wisdom, plenty of laughs, and countless cleanish feasts. (Or at the very least supplies some high-quality bathroom reading material.) Let’s have some fun, shall we?

THE DUDE DIET COMMANDMENTS

1I resolve to be less of a nutritional idiot. I shall think before I put things in my mouth, especially pizza, burritos, and other foods that are larger than my head.

2I shall eat more fish, poultry, and lean pork. Red meat is an indulgence, not a diet staple.

3Excluding my birthday and barbecue festivals to which I have purchased a ticket, I shall not eat any type of meat in quantities large enough to give me the meat sweats. Not even on No-Calorie Sunday.

4If it’s white, I shall always think twice. I will limit my consumption of white bread, rice, and pasta, and eat more whole grains, which are surprisingly delicious.

5I shall curb my refined sugar habit because it makes me fat, sick, and unhappy.

6I shall crush less dairy. Cream, butter, cheese, and ice cream will be eaten sparingly.

7I shall not clog my arteries with large quantities of fried food. There are many healthier cooking methods, and I will learn to appreciate them.

8I shall make an effort to consume at least five servings of vegetables a day and three servings of fruit. This will provide me with essential nutrients and leave me too full to eat junk.

9I shall pay attention to sauces, dressings, and condiments, many of which are filled with a shocking amount of calories, sugar, fat, and scary additives. I will eat fresh, flavor-packed foods so that I’m not tempted to douse them in ranch.

10I shall exercise portion control. I will not eat to the point where I feel ill, require medication, or am unable to move.

11I shall eat at a reasonable pace. Eating more slowly will give my body a chance to recognize when it’s full. It is also more civilized.

12I shall exercise on a regular basis. Such exercise will break a sweat. Sitting in a steam room or sauna does not count.

13I shall drink alcohol responsibly (most of the time) and keep my beer belly in check.

14My body is a wonderland. I commit myself to The Dude Diet in the hope that other people will agree with this statement.

Chapter 1

Step Up to the Dinner Plate

I’m about to hit you with my top tips for dinnertime domination, and they’re important, but the true key to establishing and maintaining a healthy cooking routine is a well-stocked kitchen. Having a variety of versatile ingredients, cookware, and tools on hand mitigates shopping lists and stress levels while boosting day-to-day Dude Diet morale. Longtime Dude Dieters and/or enthusiastic home cooks, I assume you already have a handle on your culinary setup—go ahead and get cooking! As for the rest of you, let’s quickly run down The Dude Diet’s kitchen essentials.

The following pages contain a list of the ingredients and equipment used over and over again throughout this book. It may seem long, but don’t panic. The food items are widely available (if not at your local market, definitely on a little site called Amazon.com), and you obviously don’t need to buy every single one right away. Start with the basics: extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and a few of your favorite flavors—i.e., low-sodium soy sauce and sriracha if you’re into Asian food, chipotles in adobo and cumin for the Mexican enthusiasts, etc.—and then snag a few more staples every time you hit the grocery store.

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

Oils

Avocado oil

Extra-virgin coconut oil

Extra-virgin olive oil

Light sesame oil

Dark (aka toasted) sesame oil

Vinegars

Apple cider vinegar

Balsamic vinegar

Distilled white vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Unseasoned rice vinegar

Whole-Grain Goods

Old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking!)

Brown rice

Quinoa

Farro

Whole-grain or grain-free pasta (I recommend Barilla whole-grain pasta, Jovial brown rice pasta, and Banza chickpea flour pasta.)

Whole-wheat panko bread crumbs (I love Kikkoman brand, which I order on the cheap from Amazon.com.)

Fridge Favorites

Baby spinach

Barbecue sauce (Choose something with pronounceable ingredients and minimal added sugar.)

Bread-and-butter pickles

Chicken or turkey sausage links

Dijon mustard

Eggs

Lemons

Low-sodium soy sauce

Marinara sauce (I like Rao’s brand.)

Milk (dairy or non-dairy)

Nonfat plain Greek yogurt

Parmesan cheese (Buy a wedge and grate it as needed.)

Salad greens (such as arugula or mesclun)

Sharp cheddar cheese

Sriracha sauce/hot sauce of your choice

Whole-grain tortillas (whole-wheat, sprouted grain, or brown rice)

Worcestershire sauce

Fresh herbs (Basil, cilantro, parsley, and chives will get the most action.)

Pantry Staples

Canned beans (I recommend black, cannellini, chickpeas, great northern, and kidney, but you do you.)

Canned tomatoes (crushed, diced, and pureed)

Chia seeds

Canned chipotles in adobo sauce

Cornstarch

Fresh garlic (Make sure to store it in a cool, dry place.)

Honey

Low-sodium broths (beef, chicken, and vegetable)

Nonstick cooking spray

No-sugar-added nut butters (Almond and peanut will likely get the most use.)

Onions (red and yellow)

Pure maple syrup

Raw nuts (such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts)

Shallots

Tomato paste

Tahini

Spice Cabinet Essentials

Kosher salt

Black pepper (I recommend purchasing a small grinder with whole peppercorns.)

Cayenne pepper

Chili powder

Crushed red pepper flakes (aka red chile flakes)

Dried oregano

Garlic powder

Ground cinnamon

Ground cumin

Onion powder

Paprika

Smoked paprika

Adventurous folks should also consider: chipotle chile powder, curry powder, dried parsley, dried rosemary, dried thyme, garam masala, and ground ginger.

Cookware

Large (12- to 14-inch) ovenproof skillet

True nonstick skillet (for delicate foods like fish and eggs)

Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot

Small and medium saucepans

Grill pan (Not required but very handy. Especially if you don’t have a real grill.)

Bakeware

9 × 13-inch baking dish (ceramic or glass)

9 × 9-inch baking dish (ceramic or glass)

2 large, rimmed baking sheets

2 wire baking racks

Tools

Chef’s knife

Serrated knife

Cutting board

Mixing bowls

Measuring cups and spoons

Colander

Silicone spatula

Flexible thin metal spatula (Very helpful for fish.)

Whisk

Kitchen tongs

Vegetable peeler

Coarse grater (box grater)

Microplane grater/zester (This is essential for grating garlic, ginger, and Parmesan cheese.)

Can opener

Electronics

High-speed blender (preferably with a personal cup attachment)

Food processor (I recommend a 6- to 8-cup model for most of your basic needs.)

Instant-read meat thermometer

Other Helpful Things

Parchment paper

Aluminum foil

Plastic wrap

Glass or plastic containers in various sizes (for storing prepped ingredients and leftovers)

TIPS FOR DUDE DIET DINNER DOMINATION

1BE A PLANNER. The simple action of sitting down on a Sunday or Monday and choosing dinners for the upcoming week will streamline your shopping, reduce daily dinnertime stress, and bolster your overall Dude Dieting efforts in a big way. Once you’ve picked out your recipes, make a master list of all the ingredients you’ll need to purchase and do a single big shop or online order. (You can then supplement the initial haul with fresh meat or fish later in the week.) Armed with a plan and the goods to execute it, tackling dinner after a long day feels far less daunting.

2READ THE ENTIRE RECIPE, DAMMIT! Don’t fight me on this. Reading an entire recipe from start to finish before shopping or cooking is critical to its success. Figure out the ingredients and tools needed, the prep work required, and the timing for each step of the process. Spending a few extra minutes up front to get your dinnertime ducks in a row sets you up for success and helps prevent all manner of culinary disasters. There’s nothing more annoying than starting a recipe and realizing that you forgot a key ingredient, didn’t factor in marinating time, or can’t find the colander needed to strain the pasta that’s rapidly turning to mush on the stove. Oh, and do NOT skip steps. I know waiting for meat to rest or flavors to marry may seem like time wasted, but these things have a big impact on a recipe’s deliciousness. Trust.

3MEAL PREP FOR SUCCESS. Relax, I’m not suggesting you re-create the notorious Instagram tableau of endless Tupperware containers filled with steamed chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes. That’s not The Dude Diet way. All I’m asking is that you make your life easier by working in some strategic meal prep when you can. Tackling a recipe that calls for a whole grain like farro or quinoa? Cook double or triple what you need so that you can have a prepared grain on hand for salads, sides, and bowls throughout the week. Same goes for cooked vegetables. When making a soup or chili, consider doubling down and freezing the extra batch for future busy weeknights. If a recipe requires some hands-off time on the stovetop or in the oven whip up a batch of Idiotproof Chicken Breasts or another Quick + Dirty recipe while you wait. You get the picture. Knocking out a little extra prep on the nights you have free time will save your ass on the nights you don’t.

4PORTION CONTROL IS KEY. Unfortunately, eating well is only one part of the health and weight-loss puzzle. In order to achieve and maintain a wonderland body, you not only need to eat nutritious food, you also need to eat said food in reasonable quantities! Please respect the serving sizes indicated for the recipes in this book. They’re there for a reason. The servings may seem smaller than you’re used to at first—most Americans suffer from portion distortion—but I promise that once you embrace proper portions, your body will adjust its appetite thermostat pretty quickly. For the record, The Dude Diet’s servings are actually much more generous than those dictated by the American Heart Association. (I’m all too aware that hangry dudes would punt this book out the window after being told to eat four bites of chicken for dinner.)

5SIDELINE THE CHEF’S SNACKS. Speaking of portion control, let’s talk about the invisible snacks many chefs consume while they cook. I understand that a nutritious dinner can sometimes take a bit of time, and you may feel peckish while you wait. However, mindlessly consuming the rest of the block of cheese you grated for chili, or tasting the guacamole for tacos with a bag of tortilla chips will severely diminish your Dude Diet returns. Resist the urge. (If you’re actually starving—not just bored—and can’t hold out, reach for some raw vegetables with a little bit of hummus, a handful of raw nuts, or Greek yogurt to tide you over.)

6EAT YOUR VEGETABLES. Every single dinner should involve one serving of vegetables at minimum, but two are ideal. To state the obvious, vegetables are really, really, ridiculously good for you and contain the fiber and essential vitamins and minerals you need to feel and look your best. Many recipes in this book will meet your dinnertime veggie quota as written, but in certain cases (i.e. burgers, sandwiches, and stand-alone recipes for meat and fish), you’ll need to incorporate a vegetable. You’ll find an array of sexy sides to choose from in Chapter 10, but a roasted vegetable or green salad is always an excellent option when you want to keep things simple.

7BEWARE THE BOOZE. Making smarter solid food choices is the focus of this book, but regulating your liquid consumption is equally important to your Dude Dieting success. In addition to being highly caloric, alcohol distracts your liver from one of its most important jobs: burning fat. When your liver is busy ridding itself of boozy toxins, it can’t torch fat as effectively, which is counterintuitive for anyone hoping to shed some extra